Ties Of Friendship
by Y2Jen
Summary: Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Trish Stratus go to Texas to promote WrestleMania. At that time, a notorious criminal escapes and is on the loose. When a man says that Jericho is the crook how does he clear his name? By catching the jewel thief!*finished*
1. Persecution

One night, at Chicago 'Maximum Security' State Penitentiary....  
  
Crash! 'Reerr, reerr.' The siren of the Illinois prison scream in the middle of the night. Suddenly spots of light dot the darkness, searchlights are blaring. "We have you surrounded, give up and come out with your hands behind your head." One cop says in a megaphone. There has just been a breakout and somebody was escaping. They had to catch him before....  
  
"Sir!" A younger officer ran over to the chief. "We've lost him, he has escaped."  
  
"Ah damit!"  
  
"Sir, what do you propose we do?"  
  
"I don't know son, all I do know is that we've just unleashed a terrible travesty upon the world."  
  
The headlines the next day: Notorious Jewel Thief Escapes Prison World Renown Criminal On The Loose WWE Goes To Texas For WrestleMania  
  
Elsewhere, a few days later...  
  
It's in the afternoon in Dallas, the hotel room is dark but the rattle of the card key of the door breaks the silence. As the door opens, the light fills in to reveal a three-bed hotel suite. "Here we are kids, our new home." Chris Benoit turned on the light.  
  
"Kid? Home? Shut up Benoit." Undisputed Champion, Chris Jericho, smirked to his best friend.  
  
"This is fun. I get to be with you two for a week to promote WrestleMania." Trish Stratus sighed to herself, but couldn't help but smile at the two friendly rivals.  
  
"You know, you should be honored to travel with me." Jericho pointed out.  
  
"Ha, like that's a privilege? It's really more of an obligation." Benoit replied.  
  
"Or a torture." Trish added.  
  
The three laughed as they put their bags on their beds. Benoit took the bed closest to the door, Trish got the middle one, and Jericho was at the end by the window. Jericho and Trish finished first, so they decided to go get something to eat at the hotel cafeteria. Benoit soon finished too and decided to take a rest from the flight from Florida, he had jet lag. When all of a sudden....  
  
"RAH!"  
  
"AH!" Benoit jumped at the sound. But as his heart raced, he looked up to hear the sound of laughter. It was Jericho. "Oh, I'm so sorry, is it an official holiday to scare your best friend out of his life?" Benoit groaned as he got his heart rate back down to normal.  
  
"Aw come on Benoit, lighten up and have a little fun." Jericho put his arm on Benoit's shoulder.  
  
"Yea, well, would you mind keeping your distance? People might think that we're gay." Benoit shoved it off and pushed Jericho away.  
  
"Ok, whatever you say man." Jericho shook his head and walked off. Benoit sat back down only to have Jericho throwing his pillow at him, and walk off laughing.  
  
"When will he ever act his age?" Benoit picked up the pillow and put it back on Jericho's bed. Jericho had left the hotel room and Benoit decided to follow his example and go take a walk. "Gah!" He stopped in his tracks when he saw something on the billboard posted on the wall.  
  
"Benoit? What is it?" Trish came out of the elevator when she heard his gasp.  
  
"Look at that headline! World Renown Criminal On The Loose."  
  
"Oh no, that notorious jewel thief they caught up in Milwaukee? Good thing we're in Texas, that guy can be creepy."  
  
"I wouldn't be so calm if I was you." A strange voice cut into their conversation. Benoit and Trish gasped, shocked, and turned around to find the owner of the voice.  
  
"Hello, whose there?" Benoit called.  
  
"Don't be afraid, I'm sorry I scared you." A man came out of the hotel room down the hall. "So, what do you think of that jewel thief hu, now he's scary."  
  
"Yea, well we don't need to be afraid, after all." Benoit folded his arms as they walked over.  
  
"That's right, we've got our own champion bodyguard on our side." Trish nodded and turned her head into the elevator as Chris Jericho walked out and into their room.  
  
"Yea so what, he's got a gold title." The man replied but then cried, "A gold title! Don't you see, he has a golden belt. He must be the jewel thief."  
  
"Chris, a jewel thief?" Benoit laughed at the idea. "Not if is life depended on it."  
  
"Yea that's silly, he's our friend." Trish agreed. "How could he possibly be a killer?"  
  
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that. For all you know he could be a burglary expert, he could rob and kill us all while we sleep!" The man shivered.  
  
"I think you've had a few too many drinks tonight." Trish shook her head.  
  
"Yea, come on, let's get back to our room, I'm tired." Benoit said and they went back.  
  
That night, as they slept, Benoit woke up in the middle of the night to hear Trish talking in her sleep. "I love being pretty." She said as she snored. But as Benoit listened, he could also hear Jericho saying something, and it sounded something like "I love pretty things, stealing pretty things." Benoit began to shiver, maybe that drunk little man wasn't as crazy as Trish thought. The next morning, Trish was waking up when....  
  
"Benoit?" She gasped, rolling over to find him in her bed.  
  
"Quiet Trish, I need to tell you something." Benoit whispered. "I think that man we talked to yesterday wasn't so wrong. Chris could be the jewel thief."  
  
"That's impossible, how was he in jail if he was on TV? How was he in Chicago when we were in Florida?"  
  
"Well, if not the jewel thief, maybe his accomplice? I mean look at him, sleeping with that belt." Benoit pointed to the sleeping wrestler who cuddled the title in his sleep. "I bet he's got a few other secret things we don't know about."  
  
"I have a feeling that you're going to do something drastic."  
  
"Yea, you're right, I am. But first we gotta get Jericho out of here."  
  
"Yawn." Jericho sat up and stretched, rubbing his hair out of his face. "Hey guys."  
  
"Oh, hi Jericho." Benoit began to think of a diversion. "Hey, did you hear, there's a free pancake breakfast downstairs. Me and Trish already went but you'd better hurry before they run out."  
  
"Oh, uh, ok." Jericho said, a little confused. He got up and left the hotel room.  
  
"Hey, you know Jericho eats like a bottomless pit. That lie was really mean." Trish frowned.  
  
"Come on, let's look through his bag." Benoit opened Jericho's duffel bag full of stuff. He threw out his cloths, a hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste and, "Aha! Look what I found." He pulled out a jewelry box. "And what do you call that?"  
  
"Probably the anniversary present he said he was gonna buy for his wife."  
  
"Oh and look at this." Benoit found a small leather case. "It's got a really fancy necklace in it."  
  
"That must be the necklace he was buying for his mom's birthday next week."  
  
"Ah, this one's the worst of all, it's a Rolex!"  
  
"That's the watch Jericho was fixing for his dad, it broke remember?"  
  
"Look, just face the facts. Jericho is a jewel thief, can't you see?"  
  
"No, but I do see Jericho." Trish looked out the door to see Jericho coming out of the elevator and walking down the hall.  
  
"What, oh no! Gotta clean up, put all of this stuff back." Benoit hurried. He struggled with the zipper but zipped to quickly and his shirt got stuck. Jericho walked in.  
  
"Benoit, I didn't see anything of a free pancake breakfast. They said you have to pay."  
  
"Well, I guess when they run out of syrup the whole thing's all over."  
  
"Look Benoit, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were just trying to get rid of me so you could, uh..." Jericho looked over and saw Benoit's shirt stuck in his duffel bag zipper. "Look through my stuff?"  
  
"What, me? Come on man, you can trust me, we're your friends."  
  
"Ok, whatever you say." Jericho just shrugged and went into the bathroom to brush his hair.  
  
Is Benoit going over the edge, or is Trish right about the man, is he just a drunk fan who doesn't like Jericho, or is Chris really a jewel thief after all? Find out in the next chapter. 


	2. The So Called Proof

Later on that day, Chris Jericho decided to leave the hotel room and go exploring. He wound up in the lobby with a very debating decision to make.  
  
"Hmm, do I get candy, or a soda?"  
  
He had to pick between two vending machines and he only had one dollar. But as he was trying to make his pick, Chris Benoit and Trish Stratus were spending their afternoon as detectives.  
  
"Look at him, I'll bet he's filling up for a heist tonight." Benoit replied as Jericho chose a bag of hot cheeto fries and wolfed them down.  
  
"I'll bet he's wondering why you're acting so weird." Trish muttered.  
  
"What do I have to do to prove to you that Jericho is the jewel thief?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"What, do I have to get some how to tell if your friend is a criminal and might kill you test?" And Benoit did just that.  
  
"Benoit, I think you've taken one too many hits to your coconut."  
  
"Quiet, let me read test number one." Benoit read a piece of paper. "Does your friend have an ear for money?" Benoit dug in his pocket and pulled out some change, dropping it to the floor.  
  
"Hey, did you guys hear something?" Jericho raced over.  
  
"No, why, what did it sound like?" Benoit asked.  
  
"Hu, it sounded like money." Jericho shrugged and walked off.  
  
"Alright, this test is, does your friend have an ear for danger?" Benoit read.  
  
He picked up a tape recorder from out of his bag and went into the hotel room door. Jericho had decided to retire to the room and take a nap in order to rest up for the news conference the next day. Benoit pushed the tape player and sounds of police cars and sirens filled the room.  
  
"Ah!" Jericho jumped up and began to look around quickly. "Wha-what's going on?" Benoit and Trish went inside the room to do test number three.  
  
"Ok, the next test is, does your friend have an eye for priceless items." Benoit dug into a box and pulled out cue cards with pictures on them. "Chris, look at these and tell me what you see."  
  
"A ruby." Benoit put the first card away and pulled out another card. "A sapphire." Benoit pulled out an ink blot test this time. "Uh, I dunno." "What do you mean you dunno? It's obviously a diamond hidden among a shattered zycrone."  
  
"Oh, uh, ok." Jericho was confused. "Look Benoit, you've been acting weird lately, what's up?"  
  
"What, me? Ha, you must be crazy Chris. We're your friends, you should trust us."  
  
"Ok, whatever you say, friend." Jericho shook his head as his friends left, when they were gone he just sighed, he knew something was up and Benoit wasn't telling him what it was, but he was going to find out.  
  
"Look Trish, doesn't all of this prove something to you? He's gotta be the jewel thief!"  
  
"I still think you're crazy Benoit, Jericho is our friend and he wouldn't do something like that."  
  
"I wouldn't hang around for long to find out." The voice was heard again, and that man appeared.  
  
"Well, you seem to be smart, what do you think we should do?" Benoit asked.  
  
"Come with me, I have an idea." The man led them into his hotel room.  
  
"Good, nobody followed us. We made a clean getaway from Chris." Benoit said.  
  
"Yea, a clean getaway into the clear." The man grinned.  
  
"Crystal clear if you will." Trish turned to the man.  
  
"Yes, crystal." The man laughed.  
  
"Hey, nice coin collection." Benoit said, seeing the man's open bag.  
  
"Where do you get them all?" Trish asked, going over to see them.  
  
"From stupid losers like you." The man pulled out a gun. Benoit and Trish froze. "Ha, you are such fools! I've been trying to get you away from Chris ever since you got here! Now, empty your pockets, and be quick and quiet about it!" The man waved the gun at them and they obeyed.  
  
"Why wait until we're away from Chris?" Benoit gulped.  
  
"Because he's the champion, duh, he'd kick my ass!" The man replied.  
  
"Great job Trish, we end up getting robbed because you don't believe me."  
  
"What, it was your idea to come to the WrestleMania conference in Texas!"  
  
"Well it was your idea to bring Jericho along!" "He's your friend and the champ, of course he'd come along!"  
  
"My friend, well, at least I thought he was my friend..." Benoit sighed.  
  
"But I am your friend!" Jericho's voice roared through the door and everyone turned.  
  
The man gasped and dropped his gun. He slowly crept over to Jericho and opened his mouth to speak but the pissed off Jericho ruthlessly grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground, growling angrily. Trish and Benoit gasped, they had no idea Jericho could be so violent in reality. But instead of robbing him and beating him to a bloody pulp, like Benoit had first thought, Jericho threw him into the elevator and sent him down to the lobby where the cops he called were waiting. After the stolen goods were recovered by the police and Trish and Benoit got their things back, the three friends were soon talking and laughing like they normally do.  
  
"Well, as it turned out Benoit, Jericho wasn't a jewel thief at all." Trish was saying.  
  
"Yea, it turns out that the man was actually one of the jewel thief's co- ops." Benoit agreed.  
  
"Aw come on Benoit." Jericho turned around.  
  
"What, did you actually think I thought you would kill and rob us?" Benoit tried not to blush.  
  
"Benoit, do you really think this champ is a chump?" Jericho joked.  
  
"Hey, funny one Jericho!" Trish giggled.  
  
"Ha, you liked that one hu Trish?" Jericho laughed.  
  
And so, the three went back to their room to sleep and prepare for the WrestleMania conference tomorrow. But what about the jewel thief, if he wasn't caught, he's still out there posing a threat. And little does Benoit know that he was right, the convict really was there with them in Texas. 


	3. Another Scheme

This morning's headlines:  
  
Jewel Thief Accomplis Arrested  
  
Testimony- New Hideout In Texas  
  
WWE News Conference Successful  
  
It was early in the morning, Chris Benoit, Trish Stratus and Chris Jericho were all worn out from the WrestleMania conference last night, it was such a hit it ran longer than expected. The sunlight barely lit up the room at a very light dusk, also considering the fact that the shade was part way down and the sun rose on the other side of the building. All was peace and quiet, until.. RING!  
  
"AH!" Chris Benoit and Trish Stratus, the phone being in the middle of their two beds, jumped up into the air in shock.  
  
"Ah, danger!" Trish cried. "Warning!"  
  
The two of them scurried into the bathroom, still shocked from being waken out of their early sleep. But the two never stopped to pick up the phone or even think it was the phone. Trish closed the door of the bathroom and locked it.  
  
"Jericho, save us!" Benoit yelled from inside the bathroom.  
  
But he got no reply, the room was quiet other than the ringing of the phone. Benoit opened the door and gasped at what he saw: Jericho was still asleep in bed. He stomped out of the bathroom with Trish on his tail, and walked over to Jericho's bed. Benoit held Jericho's nose so he couldn't breath, and finally the snoring turned into coughing gasps and chokes for air until finally Jericho woke up and his eyes snapped open.  
  
"Hey!" Jericho jerked away, annoyed.  
  
"Jericho, you did not come to our rescue." Benoit folded his arms with a pouting face.  
  
"Rescue, what did I have to save you from?"  
  
"Didn't you hear all of the commotion?"  
  
"Benoit, it's just the wake up call I ordered." Jericho lifted the phone off the hook and put it down, the ringing stopped. "I can handle any REAL danger."  
  
"Oh, and how did you know it wasn't real danger, you were asleep?"  
  
"Get a grip Benoit, chill. You don't have to worry, I mean, after all, I am the champion." Jericho held up his Undisputed Championship belt.  
  
"Yea, you're a champ alright, the champ of the chumps."  
  
"Come on Benoit, give him a break." Trish cut in to try and ease the tension.  
  
"Give the kid a break? Look at him Trish, he's lazy, what kind of champ is this?"  
  
"I dunno, a lazy one?"  
  
"Alright, cut to the chase. Bottom line is, we need to whip this kid into shape."  
  
"Here we go again." Trish sighed, Benoit was up to one of his crazy schemes again.  
  
Benoit, Trish and Jericho all got up and did their morning things to get ready for the day ahead of them. But what Benoit had in mind was a rigorous training session, not the usual work out Jericho gets at the gym, this one was training for the fights in real life.  
  
"Alright Jericho, activity number one." Benoit said to Jericho who was sitting on the bed. "How in tune are you with your senses around you, how do you sense danger? We're going to have Trish make a lot of noise and when you even hear a pin drop, you come out and attack got it? So just take it easy, relax, and let your true fighting skills do the work." Benoit went outside and shut the door where Trish was waiting. "Alright Trish, make some noise. Don't start out with too much, but work your way little up ok? Go ahead."  
  
"Got it." Trish nodded and began to bang on the door slightly. "Boo." Jericho didn't do anything. Trish made a little more noise as she opened the door and went by the closest. "Boo!" Jericho still paid no mind to her. She was getting ticked off. She finally went to the bathroom and began to open and slam the door shut. "BOO!!" Still Jericho did nothing. Trish turned outside to Benoit. "Now what do I do?"  
  
"Who is this guy?" Benoit growled. "Go over to him, get closer and be louder." Trish walked over to where Jericho was sitting and began to jump on the bed and yelling, trying to get Jericho's attention but he still did nothing. Benoit finally decided to go over. "What are you doing?" Benoit growled, seeing Jericho focused on the TV.  
  
"Watching TV, what does it look like I'm doing?" Jericho asked. "I always watch TV when I'm relaxing and taking it easy."  
  
"That was not the point of this session!" Benoit was ready to explode at Jericho's words. But he decided to just forget this part and move onto part two. "Let's try this one, and this should be easy for you. Trish is going to be sitting here and you try and scare her. Just don't be too violent."  
  
"Piece of cake." Jericho cleared his throat and stood out of the hotel room door. He took a deep breath, "Rah!"  
  
"Be louder." Benoit whispered.  
  
Jericho opened the door a crack, took another deep breath and yelled louder, "Rah!" Still nothing. Jericho looked at Benoit, he motioned for Jericho to go at it full force. Jericho threw open the door and jumped in, taking the deepest breath he could, "RAH!!!" Jericho yelled so loud that some of the other people in the hotel got scared and opened their doors to see what was going on. Finally Jericho ran out of air, he stood panting in the hotel room. Trish still did nothing, so Benoit finally decided to investigate.  
  
"And what are you doing?" He asked Trish.  
  
"Watching the TV show Jericho was watching. Hey, you should see it, it's pretty good." Trish turned to the two boys smiling, oblivious to what was going on.  
  
"That wasn't the way this was supposed to go!" Benoit exploded on Trish. "You know what, if this next idea of mine doesn't work, screw it!"  
  
Benoit, Trish and Jericho went outside of the hotel to the activity area. There was pool and a big grassy area for fun. A lot of people were still inside, it was still early in the morning, so only about two people were out there, a guy in the pool and a hotel worker taking a smoking break before starting his shift.  
  
"What now, are we gonna go swimming?" Trish asked.  
  
"Here's my last straw. Trish, you're a fast runner, you and Jericho will have a race around the grass area and garden over there. When you finish Jericho, you will jump into the pool and swim a lap, then I'll dive in off the diving board and you wrestle me."  
  
"In the water?" Jericho was shocked, he didn't want to hurt Benoit, he could drown.  
  
"Don't worry about me, just concentrate on yourself. And do good, Trish was a runner in high school." Benoit added. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Ready!" Trish and Jericho went over to position.  
  
"Go!" At Benoit's command, both Jericho and Trish bolted off. Jericho took the quick lead, being more of a sprinter than a long runner. But Trish had her track background and as Jericho began to tire as he moved through the trees, he and Trish were in neck and neck. Finally they both emerged from the trees and into the garden. Jericho nearly tripped over a bush and that gave Trish the lead. Jericho began to push himself and was catching up to her when she kicked up some pollen from the dirt and Jericho felt a tickle in his nose, he slowed down as he sneezed. When he stopped and shook his head, Trish had already won. Disappointed, Jericho jogged to the pool. "Come on, come on, dive in!" Benoit called from the other side by the diving board.  
  
Jericho nodded, he had a little time to catch his breath as he took of his shirt and jumped in. "Yow! This water's cold!"  
  
"Suck it up!" Benoit yelled as he took of his shirt and got ready.  
  
Jericho was not only fast on land but in water too, but he used most of his energy running and used all the rest swimming the laps. When he swam around twice, Benoit jumped into the water and surfaced in front of Jericho.  
  
"Benoit I can't do this, I could drown you."  
  
"Come on champ." Benoit splashed Jericho to try and make him mad.  
  
Jericho growled and grabbed Benoit, trying to force him under water. But Benoit slipped out of his arms and swam under Jericho, appearing behind him. Jericho dove under and grabbed Benoit's legs but Benoit kicked him and hit him in the face by accident, knocking the air out of Jericho's mouth. Jericho went to re-surface but Benoit grabbed him and held him down. Jericho cried out and struggled to get away, Benoit not knowing Jericho had no air didn't let go. Finally, due to the lack of oxygen, Jericho ran out of strength and when Benoit felt Jericho going limp, he realized he did something wrong and pulled him out.  
  
"What happened?" Trish called as she brought over two towels.  
  
"He ran out of air I think." Benoit pulled him out of the pool and put him on the cement. "Come on Jericho, breath!" Benoit dove his fist hard onto Jericho's chest.  
  
"AH!" A huge spurt of water shot from Jericho's mouth as he coughed for air.  
  
"What happened man?" Benoit was relieved he was ok, but made Jericho didn't win.  
  
"I don't know." Jericho sighed and put his arms behind his head. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be a real fighter, maybe I really do suck as a champ." He got up, took a towel from Trish and began to head back to the room.  
  
"Uh, Benoit, with all of your ideas and plans, you must be smart. So tell me, what just happened?" Trish asked.  
  
"Well we have two things. We have a lazy wrestler who lacks confidence,"  
  
"That's Jericho."  
  
"And two idiots who need protection."  
  
"That's us. So what do we do?"  
  
"Somehow make a plan that will reinforce the will in the strong wrestler, and secondly, toughen up our out of shape bodyguard." 


	4. The Jewel Thief Strikes

Jericho had long since gone into his room and went immediately to bed, feeling horrible. Benoit and Trish took their time getting back to their room and were in the elevator talking.  
  
"Well, what do we do?" Trish was asking.  
  
"If you be quiet and let me think of something I'll tell you." Benoit said.  
  
The door opened on a floor below them and a man got in. The door closed and began to go up to Benoit and Trish's floor.  
  
"Hey Benoit, do you know what time it is?" Trish asked.  
  
"Uh.." Benoit looked at his watch, it was a very expensive one at that.  
  
"I do." The man's voice made the due turn. The elevator stopped on their floor but the man pushed the stop button, freezing all activities of the elevator. "Time for you to die." He pulled out a gun. Shocked and afraid, Benoit and Trish screamed. "You'd be quiet if you knew what's good for ya!" The man pointed it at them. "Well come on, let's have it. Empty out those pockets." Trish and Benoit gave him everything they had. "You two may have been able to foil my partner, but I'm here for revenge."  
  
"Wait, aren't you." Trish stuttered, recognizing his face.  
  
"Yes, that's right." The man smiled cruelly.  
  
"But, we're not in Illinois!" Benoit cried.  
  
"How gullible you are." The man laughed.  
  
"Ah, help!" Trish and Benoit yelled. They opened the door with the emergency open button and ran down the hall.  
  
"Hey, get back here!" The man chased them.  
  
Benoit and Trish ran to their room and locked the door. Panting, they ran over to sleeping Jericho who was still in his shorts but now dry.  
  
"Jericho, help us!" Benoit shook his friend awake.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jericho sighed, groaning.  
  
"That guys is trying to kill us, the jewel thief!" Trish whimpered.  
  
"Nice try, but we're in Texas." Jericho smirked.  
  
"He's here, don't you remember the newspaper?" Benoit showed him the morning paper.  
  
"Well, I thought you said I sucked as a champ." Jericho was fully awake now.  
  
"Uh, no I didn't." Benoit gulped.  
  
"Oh yes you did, and you said it to Jericho." Trish pointed out and Jericho smiled.  
  
"You're not helping." Benoit muttered to Trish.  
  
"Hey, where'd you go?" The man's voice was heard outside.  
  
"Oh please Jericho, I'm sorry! You have to save us, I mean, look at you, you're the Undisputed Champion!" Benoit was begging him now.  
  
"It was early in the morning, he just wasn't thinking." Trish added.  
  
"Yea, so go and get him." Benoit pulled Jericho.  
  
"I don't know Benoit, I just don't think I have it in me." Jericho sighed.  
  
"Oh this is useless, completely pointless!" Benoit was sick of Jericho being so stubborn.  
  
"Here you are!" The man kicked down the door. Trish and Benoit screamed and hugged each other in fear. Jericho looked up, snapped out of his sullen state.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
Jericho's voice boomed. Trish and Benoit were shocked at this sudden change in Jericho. He jumped off of the bed and landed in front of his friends, facing the jewel thief. Trish and Benoit backed up, watching him, as Jericho posed and flexed at the criminal. Finally he dashed over and jumped on him, but the man moved aside and Jericho hit the wall and staggered back, falling on the floor.  
  
"Come on champ, get him down for the count." Benoit pep talked Jericho.  
  
"Go Jericho go!" Trish cheered.  
  
The man turned to the two, but as he was distracted, it allowed Jericho to get up and attack the crook. As the two tussled and fought, the gun flew out of the man's hand and he was helpless in the hand-to-hand combat against the wrestler. Benoit and Trish backed up for safety and hid in the bathroom. Finally the noise died down and all was quiet. Benoit and Trish opened the door as Jericho walked over panting.  
  
"Jericho, you did it!" They cried happily.  
  
"You know what?" Jericho said between breaths. "I guess my instincts really did kick in."  
  
"And not a moment too soon, you beat him." Benoit patted his back.  
  
"Wow, the Undisputed Champion captures a notorious jewel thief." Trish smiled as she got her and Benoit's things back from the unconscious criminal.  
  
"Well you'd better call the cops." Jericho added.  
  
"Good idea." Benoit took his cell phone from Trish and did just that.  
  
Later..  
  
"Wow, you caught both the criminal and his partner. You must be a very talented champion." The officer was saying to Jericho.  
  
"Bah, it was nothing. I couldn't have done it without my friends." Jericho smiled.  
  
"Well, solo or not, you really saved the day for not only Texas but for the world. Who knows what this guy could've done, what he could've stolen." The cop replied.  
  
"That's just our Chris." Trish hugged him. "He's a hero."  
  
"Not just a hero, he's a champion." Benoit patted his friends back.  
  
"That's Benoit, coming from you, that means a lot." Jericho smiled.  
  
And so, mission accomplished for the WWE trio in Texas. They promoted WrestleMania at their news conference and captured the escaped criminal and his crook of a partner. Ironically, at WrestleMania, Jericho would have to fight Benoit in the main event title match. So let's flash forward, if you will, to when Trish, Jericho and Benoit return to Texas but not for a conference or hero mission, but for the grand daddy of them all, WrestleMania! 


	5. WrestleMania

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to WrestleMania!" Vince McMahon announced as the pyros lit the arena and the fans screams became deafening over the theme song.  
  
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the greatest spectacle in sports- entertainment, welcome to WrestleMania! I'm good ol' JR, ringside along with Jerry 'the king' Lawler."  
  
"Oh JR, how about the main event for tonight!"  
  
"That's right King. Two best friends become rivals for the title as Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho faces off against the number one contender from the Royal Rumble, Chris Benoit."  
  
"And what I like about that is, guess whose in Benoit's corner? Trish Stratus, OH!"  
  
"That's right King, the two allied themselves last year back at Unforgiven in that inter-gender match against Steven Richards and Victoria."  
  
"That was back when Chris Benoit made the jump change from SmackDown to Raw."  
  
"Enough talk King, let's get onto WrestleMania!"  
  
As the night went on, hours of entertainment in the ring drew up to the main event, the match everyone wanted to see: title match, Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit. Soon the trio was standing in the ring, the match all set out in their head. The match was no DQ and Trish was going to interfere in the match. Ding! The referee took the title from Jericho and he and Benoit began to square off in the ring. As the match went, they exchanged several harsh blows and got near pin falls, but it was soon time for Trish to enter the ring. Jericho had been thrown into the corner turnbuckle and Benoit acted as if he'd torn out his shoulder. Trish ran into the ring and over to her boyfriend.  
  
"Oh no, are you ok?" She asked but Jericho got up and cornered the two.  
  
"Now, which one of you do I destroy first?" He smirked coldly.  
  
"Me." "No me." "Me first." "No do me first." Benoit and Trish insisted back and forward. Jericho shook his head, getting confused and angry.  
  
"Enough!" He roared. "I'll just destroy the both of you."  
  
"No Chris!" Benoit began but Jericho punched him and then slapped Trish, then hit Benoit again, then Trish again, and so on until finally Benoit and Trish both shot a hand out and grabbed Jericho by the throat.  
  
"Ah!" Jericho froze. Both of them picked him up and choke slammed him through the mat. Benoit began to go for the cover but hesitated.  
  
"Chris, what are you waiting for? Pin him!" Trish cried.  
  
Jericho got up weakly and both he and Benoit looked at each other. They realized that no matter how much of a rival they were to each other due to the title, they were still and always friends. Benoit extended his hand and Jericho smiled, extending his. The crowd was shocked as the two shook hands. Suddenly..  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" It was, guess who, none other than Eric Bishoff. "Don't just stand there Jericho, fight him, you're the champ!"  
  
"I can't fight him, he's my friend." Jericho turned angrily to Bishoff.  
  
"Well then," Eric wore one of his evil smiles. "If you won't fight him, then he will." He stepped aside and out came the game, Triple H.  
  
"Jericho you can't fight Triple H, you're weakened from our fight." Benoit said.  
  
"No, I have to." Jericho stood his ground, his eyes fixated on that of Triple H's.  
  
"What do we do?" Trish asked Benoit.  
  
"Well, Triple H is walking down the ramp, let's attack him."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Benoit and Trish got out of the ring and charged at Triple H. Trish gave him a low blow and as soon as he was down, Benoit began to wail on him. Jericho was in shock. The ref grabbed Benoit and began to pull him away from Triple H, but then Trish started in. The ref went back for Trish but Benoit ran back over and continued his attack.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Eric Bishoff was confused, his plan couldn't backfire. "Do something ref, get in there!"  
  
The referee again tried to separate Trish and Benoit from Triple H but they refused to go. Finally two other referees ran out and got Trish and Benoit, pulling them away. The ref helped Triple H back up, but he jerked away and focused back on Jericho. Jericho got ready as Triple H ran into the ring and attacked Jericho. Jericho threw Triple H against the ropes and landed a bulldog and then stopped, waiting for Triple H to get up, but he didn't.  
  
"Hey, what's going on?" Jericho was a little confused.  
  
"I guess our little attack on Trips paid off." Benoit smiled.  
  
"Hurry up Chris, do it now, cover him!" Trish called.  
  
Jericho nodded and ran to the ropes, springboard off and landed the Lionsault and went for the cover. 1, 2, 3! Ding, Jericho was still the champion. Benoit and Trish ran into the ring to congratulate their friend.  
  
"Chris you did it, you really are the champ!" Benoit gave him a noogie.  
  
"I knew you could do it Chris, you really proved yourself." Trish hugged him.  
  
"You won't get away with this Jericho, you may be the champ, but I'm your boss!" Eric yelled into the mic before throwing it down and storming off.  
  
"Hey guys, what are we gonna do about Bishoff?" Trish asked.  
  
"Meh, we don't have to worry about him." Benoit sighed. "All that I care about is that the real champ won. Good job Chris."  
  
"Well I've said it before and I'll say it again, guys, I couldn't have done it without you." Jericho smiled. "Thanks guys, thanks for believing in me."  
  
"No problem." Benoit grinned. "Hey I mean, after all, what are friends for?" 


End file.
